Dan Rather Quotes

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Dan Rather

Profession : Journalist

Birth : October 31, 1931

Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow.

Dan Rather

What separated Ed Murrow from the rest of the pack was courage.

Dan Rather

As long as I have my health, I want to be reporting somewhere.

Dan Rather

Don't taunt the alligator until after you've crossed the creek.

Dan Rather

The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called 'truth'.

Dan Rather

If I didn't have a front-row seat on history, it was at least a seat on the aisle.

Dan Rather

The great lesson my mother and father gave me was almost invisible. It was a strong sense of being rooted.

Dan Rather

A college degree is the key to realizing the American dream, well worth the financial sacrifice because it is supposed to open the door to a world of opportunity.

Dan Rather

The press is a watchdog. Not an attack dog. Not a lapdog. A watchdog. Now, a watchdog can't be right all the time. He doesn't bark only when he sees or smells something that's dangerous. A good watchdog barks at things that are suspicious.

Dan Rather

An intellectual snob is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture and not think of The Lone Ranger.

Dan Rather

Always marry a woman from Texas. No matter how tough things get, she's seen tougher.

Dan Rather

Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn't block traffic.

Dan Rather

But we cannot rely on memorials and museums alone. We can tell ourselves we will never forget and we likely won't. But we need to make sure that we teach history to those who never had the opportunity to remember in the first place.

Dan Rather

Now, I know you expected me to say that, well, I just kick back in the rocking chair, fished a little bit, listened to Willie Nelson tapes and watched old baseball games on the Classic Sports network. And, tell you the truth, I have done that for maybe about five total minutes.

Dan Rather

Journalists should denounce government by public opinion polls.

Dan Rather

They may have turned this up, whether you had the Paula Jones case or not. But again maybe not, but again that's like if a frog had side pockets he'd probably wear a handgun.

Dan Rather

Ratings don't last. Good journalism does.

Dan Rather

Fear rules almost every newsroom in the country.

Dan Rather

And now the sequence of events in no particular order.

Dan Rather

I respect and empathize with reporters and editors who must compete in today's environment. And I know full well that when I've been covering campaigns, which I still do, I've made my mistakes and have been far from perfect.

Dan Rather